Welcome back! Hope everyone has been well :”)
If you have not checked out my previous week’s post, do give it a read first as today’s blog will be a continuation of it :”)
Have you ever heard of silicone dish sponges? Honestly, I only came across such a product only recently as I was researching for blog ideas. Silicone sponges are not sold in large-scale supermarkets such as NTUC in Singapore, thus, a rather rare sight to many Singaporeans. Having grown up in a household that has used the classic green and yellow sponge, it did not occur to me that there were alternatives to the common disposable dish sponge. To my surprise, many of the respondents resonated with me when they were asked to pick between my little green dot silicone sponge (1 piece) for SGD3.95 (USD2.89) and 3M Scotch-Brite Scrub Sponge (1 piece) for SGD2.90 (USD2.12).
54 out of the 77 respondents would still purchase the disposable dish sponge. However, I could not single out which factors would have affected their decision. Price? Brand name? Reluctance to try a new product? Unsure of where to purchase silicone sponges? In my opinion, it would be a combination of a few factors. Price would have definitely influenced their decision as the silicone sponge is around SGD1.05 more expensive. The brand name could also have played a major role in affecting one’s decision as 3M Scotch-Brite sponges is a common household brand here in Singapore. This might then increase one’s reluctance to switch to silicone sponges due to the habit of using disposable sponges at home. To add on, silicone sponges are not typically sold at hardware stores and supermarkets, making it inaccessible to many customers. If silicone sponges started gaining popularity and were made more accessible to customers, would more respondents have chosen silicone sponges? What do you think?
Another item I used in my survey was nut butter! Who remembers slabbing a large chunk of peanut butter on their toast when you were younger? I sure do! I asked the respondents to choose between NAKED Organic Almond Butter 180g for SGD 9.99 (USD7.30), Skippy Peanut Butter Spread – Creamy170g for SGD3.45 (USD2.52), or neither. Unlike the silicone sponge, the sustainable substitute is currently being sold at local supermarkets! However, despite being on the shelves of large-scale supermarkets, only 9 out of the 77 respondents would purchase the organic almond butter. Why is that so? Since nut butter is a food product, people would be more sensitive to change. To add on, peanut alternatives only started gaining popularity recently as more influencers and celebrities started advertising and using alternatives such as almond butter and milk. The idea of consuming other tree nuts may seem intimidating and unusual for many (me included!). Would the results be different in other countries? Let’s find out next week! See you 🙂